


Out of Cage

by Michevalier



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Cute, Day 1, F/M, Fluff, Light Angst, Mutual Pining, Reminiscing, Reunion, RikuNami, Rikunami Week 2020 (Kingdom Hearts), Slice of Life, Talking, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Walks On The Beach
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:49:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27059020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Michevalier/pseuds/Michevalier
Summary: There was still a certain burden on Namine's heart, even after she was finally out of her cage.Fortunately, she had Riku by her side, watching over her.
Relationships: Naminé/Riku (Kingdom Hearts)
Kudos: 15





	Out of Cage

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! Here's my contribution for the first day of this lovely week! I hope you enjoy it! :)

"Say..." Namine began rather timidly. "Is it true that you have been staring at me quite a lot these days?"

Riku froze as he certainly did not expect such a "plot twist" to their otherwise absolutely ordinary morning stroll along the coast.

"W-where did you get this from?" the boy did his best to preserve his "chill" facade, even if it turned out to be more like a clumsy parody with his cheeks burning bright red.

"Oh," Namine covered her mouth as she giggled. "Sorry. I guess the way I made it sound was weird. It's just... It's not only my observation. Kairi noticed it as well. You haven't been able to take your eyes off me recently, huh?"

Riku had no appropriate reply to that. But he already knew what he was gonna tell Kairi later on this day.

Like, someone should really mind her own business, duh.

"Heh..." Riku's face was still redder than it should have been as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry if it made me seem like a creep or something. That... wasn't my intention at all."

"I know," Namine shook her head. "And I never got that kind of impression either."

She suddenly went silent. And from the expression on her face Riku figured that she became deeply submerged into her thoughts.

"But..." as she parted her lips again, her voice sounded somewhat careful, almost as if she was walking through a minefield. "...There has to be a reason, right? Why have you been watching me all this time? People don't usually give others _that_ much attention unless they have something specific on their mind?"

Now, it was Riku's turn to remain speechless for a moment or two. As he was going through his own thoughts, his gaze turned to the ocean and its waves that had been swaying back and forth, kissing the shore ever so eagerly.

"I've been wondering..." he spoke as he watched mischievous sunbeams dance at the very surface of those waves. "How does it feel like to you? Your freedom? I just can't help but think it must be wonderful that you're no longer confined in Castle Oblivion. I... I'm happy we get to spend our time together like this, too."

Namine raised her eyes to the skies as she spotted a couple of seagulls merrily soaring among fluffy, cotton candy like clouds.

"It _is_ wonderful," she smiled softly, and that glimmer in her heavenly blue eyes involuntarily sent a wave of warmth which struck Riku's heart all too suddenly. "I just..."

Riku tensed up at once as he noticed tears welling up in those very same blue eyes. But as those tears were on the brink of spilling over, Namine quickly wiped them away.

"I'm sorry," she sighed heavily. "I guess, even though I am happy, there's still something... bothering me."

"What is it?" Riku frowned as he hated seeing Namine like that, he truly did.

The girl hesitated, ending up taking a long, gloomy pause, but, in the end, she decided to risk it and let this burden off her shoulders.

"Well, I know it might sound stupid, but every time I close my eyes, even if just for a moment... I always fear that I may end up in Castle Oblivion after opening them again."

Namine forced out a bitter chuckle, and Riku clearly imagined her throat being filled with numerous shards of broken glass, so pained her voice sounded.

"Sorry," she sighed heavily. "I know this is ridiculous."

"...It isn't."

There was no way Riku could undermine her feelings. Even though he had never been a Nobody, a being with no past, no existence of their own, he still realised how Namine felt. She was "born" already captive, imprisoned among those ghastly white walls and with strings attached to her back and limbs, strings wrapped around her throat, like a noose. She was literally a puppet, a slave to Organization XIII.

Unlike most of "normal" people's memories of childhood, Namine had nothing but those sickeningly white interiors and despair... yes, even though she was a Nobody, she could still experience it.

And just thinking about that made Riku's own heart throb with pain.

There was also this imagery reappearing in his thoughts every time his memory took him back to those endless days: a bird, a small canary sitting in a white cage... but as soon as the cage's doors were open, the bird did not fly away. It was so much used to its eternal state of captivity that the very thought of escaping never crossed its mind. And that was... that was how Riku couldn't help but see Namine.

Yes, even though she was now physically out of her cage, her mind and soul still remained there, even right at this moment.

"Namine."

The girl shuddered not just because of the sound of her name but also because of how suddenly and tightly Riku grasped her hand, entwining their fingers together.

"It's okay now," he said as he looked into her eyes. "Everything is okay. You're free, for real."

"Riku..." Namine's cheeks blossomed with the prettiest blush the boy in question had ever seen.

"That nightmare is over," he smiled as he encouraged her. "If you're worried about lacking precious memories others possess, I..." he paused as his own face grew visibly redder, "...a-all of us are here to help you make tons of them. W-we promise."

And as he said that, his heart skipped a beat when Namine's own grip onto his hand got stronger.

"So... that's why you have been watching over me this entire time?" there was something playful in the way she said that.

"Heh..." and both that and the warmth of her hand in his sent his heart into a wild gallop. "You could say that, I guess."

Little did he know that at this very moment Namine's own heart kept pounding so hard as it was about to jump right out of her cage.

Out of her rib cage and into his hand.


End file.
